It appears that modern Italy was unified by literature long before it existed as a single nation on the map. Although up to a century and a half ago the Italian peninsula was still divided into many different territories, each developing its own local dialect, for centuries Italians – wherever they were from – had also taken common pride and joy in the reading of literary geniuses such as Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, and Giovanni Boccaccio.

As a matter of fact, these poets were recognized as the foremost authorities in vernacular – that is “non-Latin” – literature already during the Middle Ages: for this reason, the Florentine literary dialect in which their masterpieces were written would soon start to set the tone for the later development of standard Italian, the language we now call La Bella Lingua (“the beautiful language”).

Ancient manuscripts of the Divine Comedy, as well as those of the poet’s death mask and the so-called Libro del Chiodo can be found in the interiors of Dante’s house-museum

It is not by mere chance that these world-renowned medieval poets are often called “le tre corone Fiorentine della lingua italiana”, the “three Florentine crowns of the Italian language.” Another frequent name is also that of Tre Fontane “three fountains,” because it was precisely from the influence and greatness of their best-known works that the great flow of Italian language and literature eventually originated. Our aim is to take an exciting journey together to the heart of Tuscany, the spring from which La Bella Lingua flowed: by doing this we will look for the origins of the three “fathers of the Italian language,” visit their native houses, and explore the close relationship between Dante and Firenze, Petrarca and Arezzo, and Boccaccio and Certaldo, respectively.

The original building where Dante was born no longer stands, but it was reconstructed in the early 20th century: here, today, the museum "Casa di Dante" welcomes hundreds of thousands visitors

The first step in this three-part journey can only be a tour of the Renaissance City, the homeland of Italy’s most celebrated poet. As it is widely known, Dante was born here in Florence in the year 1265, but of course the city has completely changed since those long-lost days. Many of the landmarks that were most familiar to the poet - such as the ancient city walls - do not exist anymore, while others still survive in all their splendor: for example, “il bel San Giovanni” (“the beautiful Saint John”), as Dante called Florence’s marvelous baptistery, in which he himself was baptized. As for the now-gone landmarks from that remote era, most important to us is probably the family house of the Alighieris in which Dante was born: but in fact just the original building is missing, since the “casa di Dante” was reconstructed in the early 20th century on the same corner in central Florence where - according to some sources - it had once stood.

To speak the truth, there is no absolute certainty that the building on Via Santa Margherita is on the right spot: Dante himself wrote only that he was born near the Badia Fiorentina abbey, the one in which Boccaccio would later deliver the very first public lectures on the Divine Comedy. However it may be, the place is nonetheless interesting, because it is now home to a museum seeking to reconstruct Dante’s own life and times in detail. In fact, the tiny square in front of the poet’s house is in itself worth-visiting: from here we get a glimpse of the near Torre della Castagna (Chestnut Tower) on Piazza di San Martino, but also that of a bronze bust of Dante by the sculptor Augusto Rivalta and a little well in whose vicinity someone carved the poet’s profile on the floor.

Dante was born in Florence in the year 1265, but of course the city has completely changed since those long-lost days

As for the interiors of Dante’s house-museum – adorned with the coats of arms of the medieval families mentioned by the poet in his works – you can find here, among others, a reconstruction of Dante’s bedroom and several reproductions of ancient manuscripts of the Divine Comedy, as well as those of the poet’s death mask and the so-called Libro del Chiodo (Book of the Nail) in which the sentences leading to Dante’s exile were recorded. Most interesting, however, is probably “Dante’s Dagger,” thus called because it was found on the site of the Battle of Campaldino (fought in 1289 between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions) in which the poet also took part. In addition, the museum includes a small collection of modern works of art that were inspired by Dante and that testify to his ongoing influence: among them, a version of the poet’s magnum opus that was copied by hand over a period of five years by a local housewife.

It goes without saying that the relationship between the Supreme Poet and Firenze does not end at his native house: on the contrary, Florence is literally swarming with places and memories somehow related to Dante’s life and works. Some of these corners are just a few steps away from where the poet’s house used to be, and they are also included in the guided tours organized by the people taking care of the “casa di Dante”: most notably, the Chiesa di Santa Margherita, also called Dante’s Church because – according to local traditions – it was right here that the poet married Gemma Donati and that he first set his eyes on his beloved Beatrice Portinari, whose family was buried here. As a matter of fact, the Portinaris lived right next to the church, on Via del Corso: to put it differently, they were Dante’s neighbors.

When searching for the actual traces the “Father of Italian language” left in Florence, one ultimately embarks on a never-ending journey in which history and legend are mixed. Sites like the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, in which Dante’s great master Brunetto Latini now rests, belong to the first category, while the second one contains such stories as that of the Sasso di Dante, the large stone in Piazza delle Pallottole on which the Sommo Poeta was said to sit and think, admiring the construction works of Florence Cathedral. Whatever Dantesque route through the city you may follow, though, the tour would surely include a stop at Dante’s most famous monument in Piazza Santa Croce, as well as a visit to the eponymous Basilica: in it you may “honor the Supreme Poet” by kneeling in front of the tomb where he would now rest, had he not died in exile, away from his beloved hometown.